“It was a fairly simple scene,” Mitte said of his last work on the show. “There was so much emotion behind it, and there was so much going on, that it actually turned out being, as simple as it was, very complicated. I loved it.”

Interviewed during the Summer TV Tour, Mitte said the reality of his time on the show coming to a close didn’t hit him at that moment.

“I think it’s still hitting me,” he said. “I still haven’t come to the realization that we’re done. I think when I finally see the last episode air, that’s when it’s going to hit me.

“The last episode is so amazing, and Bryan and everyone is incredible. (Creator) Vince (Gilligan) outdid himself. He really outdid himself.”

Now a Los Angeles resident, Mitte said he’s got several future projects “up in the air” at the moment, even while “Breaking Bad” is having its last great moment. No matter what he and the others in the cast move on to, they’ll always be recognized for their work on this job.

“There’s a downside to that,” Mitte said. “But there’s an amazing, amazing upside, and it’s that this show, and what it’s brought to television, changed everything. It’s been a complete whirlwind and mesmerizing

AVC: Moving on to other projects after Breaking Bad, are you worried that other scripts might not give you the same feeling?

RJM: I am and I’m not. I’m very picky about what I do. I’m able to say “no” and “yes,” which is nice. But, for the most part, the people I work with, I’m not worried about their scripts. If I have faith in them and I believe in them, it’s not about the script. It’s about what you’re creating with the other person, it’s about what’s on the screen. What I’ve been working with and the people I surround myself with, I’m not worried about horrible scripts. Yeah, I might read one that’s horrible, but come on! It could be funny as hell! As long as people laugh, as long as people are smiling or shaking their head and laughing, I’m okay with that. It’s when someone turns it off that I’m concerned and, until that happens, I’m not worried.

What's amazing about Walt is that he remains unconvinced. He still thinks he can take the money and create a whole new life with his wife and son (Anna Gunn and R.J. Mitte who, like everyone in the cast, are pitch perfect). Obstacles may be posed by Hank, but Walt's willingness to explore ways around them provide the opener with some of its most chilling moments.

As we head into the final eight episodes of "Breaking Bad," Walter White isn't an antihero; he's a villain. Season by season, Gilligan has stripped him of every convention and crutch normally used to make a bad-guy lead if not likable than at least not repellent.

“Breaking Bad” raised grown-up peer pressure to levels not seen since the days of Radiohead, David Foster Wallace and “Reservoir Dogs.” Before the Emmys started rolling in, it was a hard sell: “So this guy, he’s a high school chemistry teacher who finds out he has terminal cancer and his wife is pregnant … you with me so far?”

Many succumbed, eventually reappearing to babble about exploding tortoises, money laundering and that poor kid on the bike. As the seasons went on, binge-watching remedial students emerged paler, wide-eyed and itching for bar trivia.